Xbox One release date confirmed as November

The Microsft Xbox event at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles is happening right now and the Xbox One release date has been confirmed as November.

The Xbox One will launch in 21 territories around the world and comes with a price of £429 in the UK ($499 US and 499 euros).

MORE: All the details on the Xbox One

Various UK retailers had previously leaked that the Xbox One release date would be November 30th, with a price tag of anywhere between £400 and £600.

Microsoft has also today announced a new Xbox 360, on sale today, with a new design based on the Xbox One and with new games at launch. Xbox Live Gold members will also get two free Xbox 360 game downloads a month.

Xbox also revealed more details on its SmartGlass app, which allows you to stream content between phones or tablets and your Xbox and TV screen.

Xbox has announced a partnership with Twitch TV, allowing you to instantly live stream your gameplay to other devices and people.

The platform is embedded within the Xbox One, allowing you to share video of gameplay direct from your Xbox. YouTube is currently a huge platform for gamers to share videos, so Microsoft is clearly hoping to take a chunk of this action.

Microsoft also announced changes to its Xbox Live platform, which is how users connect online and play games and stream music and movies. Previously using Xbox Live points, this will now change to your local currency AKA real money.

New games included Battlefield 4, which will run at 60 frames per second (fps) on the new Xbox One, plus Dead Rising 3, Forza 5, Halo and Minecraft.

We're hoping for more official details on the new Xbox One, but what we do know is that the first Xbox with a Blu-ray drive, plus HDMI connections, voice and gesture controls and a renewed focus on live TV.

by Joe Cox

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Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).